The English Oak Project

English Bluebell

English Bluebell

English Bluebell

English Bluebell

This is what we work hard for every year. These are English Bluebells in April of 2025

Nature’s Gold, England’s Glory

English Bluebell

English Bluebell

English Bluebell

English Bluebell

This is what we work hard for every year. These are English Bluebells in April of 2025

Nature’s Gold, England’s Glory

‘Sowing’ 🙄

Larry the Cat

My youngest son visited Downing Street today on the way back to Nottingham University, as he wanted to meeting the most famous resident. Here is Larry the Cat managing the security

A sea of English Bluebell leaf shoots on our woodland floor

It takes five years for an English Bluebell seed to mature into a bulb & root system capable of producing the first flower

It is five years since we started manually sewing seeds in the areas with no bluebells, so we are expecting an even more impressive display this year 🤗

A path through our bluebell fields

For most of the 9 months that the bluebells are awake even our fallow deer stick to the paths

Rather than a deliberate attempt to avoid damage to the bluebells, in reality it is because they cannot see where they are placing their hooves

English Bluebell leaf shoots on our woodland floor

Our English Bluebell fields are a no-step zone for 9 months of the year

For 3 months when the bluebells are dormant we will only enter if there is urgent work required on a tree

In reality it means that 99% never feels the weight of a human foot

A wild rabbit in woodland

The longer you stay, the more the woodland residents sense you are not a threat. They accept and ignore you

Being ignored by wildlife is the greatest of gifts

3/3

A squiggly oak

You hear the music the wind helps the trees sing with, the quietest of animal noises, & you start to see further through the outgrowth

The longer your senses soak up the experience, the more you become part of it yourself.
2/3

Our woodland

Find a tree that fits your posture. Sit & use your senses to really ‘know’ the woodland

Don’t sit for a minute, sit for an hour. You start to be aware of things that weren’t there before, smells that appear from nowhere, feel leaf and branch debris on your face.

1/3

No, just old fashioned human image manipulation 🙂🌳

An angry oak tree with an axe

NEVER EVER ANNOY AN OAK TREE 🫣

🙂

🙂

This is Carnac in France, and there are thousands of the same species in the town, but only this one doing this 🙂🌲

A house 45 degrees from the vertical with a pine tree completely vertical

That’s better 🫠🌲

A pine tree 45 degrees off the vertical

Trees detect gravity using tiny structures within the cells of their roots and shoots called statoliths, which tell them which way is up, even on a slope.

Meanwhile, some trees are just completely bonkers

🙂🌳

🙂

The lower trunk of an oak surrounded by English Bluebell leaf shoots

Cariad the oak looks on as our English Bluebells drag the light into our beautiful woodland 🤗

Bert the Bold, as he just walked the whole length of our garden and stood five yards from me 🥲🐦‍⬛

🙂

🙂🐦‍⬛

Yes 🥲🐦‍⬛

I am in the garden improving the avian social housing (overgrown bushes) before the residents move in

The young male blackbird hanging around because we are ‘Sans Bert’ has no fear. He even knows where I left the raisins for Bert

We appear to have a Bert junior, and I could cry

English Bluebell leaf shoots

Our English Bluebells are doing what they do 🤗

Yes 🙂🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳

💚

💚

Decoy Bert has been placed in my study window facing our garden

To be honest I think the boys know he has gone, they just know we all miss him terribly